Film

A Guide To Trailers For 2021 Movies We Were Meant To See In 2020 And Their New Release Dates

by Merryana Salem  28 December 2020
2021-movies-trailers

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A lot of 2021 movies are movies we were meant to see this year. But all things considered, there were a lot of entertaining movies released in 2020.

Earlier in the year, we had Birds of Prey, and Emma. Throughout the year we had The Old Guard, Bill and Ted 3, and Tenet. Now we’re wrapping up the year with Wonder Woman 1984, and Happiest Season. A year with minimal cinema-going did spell big changes for where we saw new releases, but mostly it changed what we saw.

Many films that we were meant to see were delayed, either indefinitely or until next year. But you know what we did get? Some pretty excellent trailers. So, without much further ado, in lieu of film reviews for these most anticipated films, I humbly present you with reviews of my favourite trailers for films we were meant to have seen this year

A Quiet Place Part 2

“You don’t know, do you? The people that are left are not the kind of people worth saving.” Apart from some screaming, this line is essentially the only solid piece of dialogue in the trailer for A Quiet Place‘s sequel and it’s suitably chilling.  A Quiet Place was a film you quite literally couldn’t take your eyes off, and the trailer for the sequel is no exception.

From the alien creatures reaching down sinisterly from the corner of the frame towards an unaware Emily Blunt to Emily Blunt painstakingly attempting not to make a sound as she squeezes through the hole in a wire fence carrying a newborn baby- The trailer for A Quiet Place Part 2 has me horrifyingly hyped. Especially, at the prospect of meeting others besides the Emily Blunt-led family unit.

It’s rare for a trailer to get me so excited after only basically showing 2 scenes, but showing not telling will always be this franchises’ greatest strength. I will keep impatiently waiting to see it until April 22nd 2021.

Black Widow

Not going to lie, I wasn’t as excited for Black Widow when the first trailer dropped last year, despite being a massive fan of the character since I was a kid. Mostly because I was mad at what Marvel did to her in Avengers: Endgame. Finally giving Black Widow a solo movie only after killing her off just felt like the cinematic equivalent a friend buying you ice cream to make up for chopping your limbs off. Maybe absence does really make the heart grow fonder, though.

In the 9 months since the film was meant to be released back in March, I’ve come back to the trailer again and again. Perhaps for the humour of seeing Natasha’s (Scarlett Johansson) stoic Russian spy facade roasted for being sloppy throughout the trailer by her Russian family? Or the impressive glimpse of mirrored fight choreography between Natasha and Yelena (Florence Pugh) that hints at their shared past in the mysterious Red Room? Between the fight choreography and sisterly chemistry between Johansson and Pugh, you can bet my face will be glued to the screen come April 29th 2021.

Candyman

Nia DaCosta’s remake of the classic horror film by the same name, Candyman is produced by Black American horror master, Jordan Peele (Get Out, Us). The trailer dropped way back in February, packed with just the right amount of blood splatter, jump scares and showy figures in photographs to send shivers down your spine without spoiling anything major (so far as we know).

For old school fans, there are clearly plenty of homages to the original film coming our way. Not to mention plenty of peaks at the sheer amount of fools who want to tempt fate saying, “Candyman” 5 times in the mirror. A practice which, apart from driving me crazy, only makes the trailer’s use of a very spooky remix of Destiny’s Child’s ‘Say My Name’ all the more darkly perfect. Possibly even the best song use in a trailer in history. Candyman was originally set for release this October but is yet to have a confirmed release date for 2021.

Dune

The trailer for Denis Villeneuve’s Dune hyped exactly two types of people: hardcore sci-fi/fantasy fans, and people whose major hobby is thirsting after any of the men cast in this movie. Possibly even a third category of people like me who just want Zendaya to be in everything. Starring Jason Mamoa, Timothée Chalamet, Oscar Isaac, Zendaya and Dave Bautista, Dune is an adaptation of Frank Herbert’s iconic science fiction novel series by the same name.

The history of prior Dune adaptations is rife with disappointment, and criticism for how the series handles race and Arab orientalism. An adaptation of Dune for the 2020s is an impressively ambitious endeavour. But Denis Villeneuve, whose prior work includes Blade Runner 2049, Arrival, and Sicario seems more than up to the task according to the sprawling space opera visuals in the trailer. Maybe this Dune will finally be The One? Who knows? We’ll find out December 2021.

The French Dispatch

Despite many legitimate criticisms of his filmographies’ representation of people of colour, Wes Anderson is loved and renowned the world over for his film’s quirky quest plots, star-studded casts, and vibrant symmetrical cinematography. The French Dispatch is the filmmaker’s latest adventure, venturing back into live-action reminiscent of his award-winning film, The Grand Budapest Hotel, after his controversial animation, Isle of Dogs. Originally slated for release late 2020, The French Dispatch trailer paints a painfully tantalising glimpse of what appears to be Anderson’s vibrant version of a political thriller.

It’s rort with revolutions, multiple aspect ratios, violence, and quippy ruminations on the nature of the media’s impact on humanity. The star-studded cast is nothing short of enchantingly strange in the trailer and includes Timothée Chalamet, Elizabeth Moss, Jeffery Wright, and Saoirse Ronan. Sadly, there is no confirmed new release date, only a consensus we will be seeing it sometime in 2021.

The Green Knight

Hands down the best trailer of the year, in my opinion, is the one for The Green Knight. Starring Dev Patel, The Green Knight is a horror-fantasy retelling of the poem, ‘Sir Gaiwin and the Green Knight” which was was written by an anonymous, 14th-century British poet. The trailer plunges through disturbing atmospheric visuals.

A hand grasping a skull, a creature lurking in the fog above the cliffs, Dev Patel lit aflame upon a throne and a skeleton rotting on a forest floor. Director, David Lowrey’s visuals are otherworldly and unparalleled, weaving together to make a simply stunning trailer. It’s exciting enough to see medieval period pieces featuring people of colour, but The Green Knight‘s stunning imagery makes the wait for this film even more painful. The Green Knight was originally due for release in May of this year, but will now be released July 2021.

In The Heights

I might get some hate for this but I am not a fan of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton. But despite this, the trailer for the film adaptation of his other musical, In The Heights, absolutely slaps. There’s no other way to put it. Based on the novel by Quiara Alegría Hudes, the musical is a love letter to the Latinx community of Washington Heights and follows a collection of characters lives over three days. Directed by Crazy Rich Asians director, Jon M. Chu, the trailer shows off why his trademark sweeping high energy is perfectly suited to a musical, making the small bodegas and cramped streets feel grand. Originally set to be released in June of this year, musical fans will have to wait until June of 2021.

The King’s Man

The latest instalment of the Kingsman franchise is actually a prequel that brings back original Kingsman director, Matthew Vaughn. The King’s Man is based on a screenplay Vaughn wrote with Karl Gajdusek. Set in the 1900s before World War One, the trailer depicts historical tyrants like Rasputin himself, and criminal masterminds planning a war that could wipe out millions.

Of course, the original team of rag-tag well-mannered spies are trying to stop them too. The cast includes Ralph Fiennes (Harry Potter, The Grand Budapest Hotel), Gemma Arterton (Summerland, St Trinians) and Daniel Brühl (The Alienist), and looks nothing less than rock and roll. Personally, I could have used this massive dose of dopamine in June of 2020, when it was originally meant to be released, but the trailer will tie me over until March 2021.

No Time to Die

There was a stretch of about 4 months in the middle of the year where almost every week you’d wake up to the news of a different release date for this film. No Time To Die is the latest James Bond film and is slated to be the last starring Daniel Craig as the titular, Mr Bond. Details of the film’s plot are, as is tradition, top secret. I could write up my chaotic theory that the plot heavily involves bio-terrorism, based on the producers’ haste to delay the release throughout the year, but we simply do not have the time.

Regardless of when we were meant to, or even if we ever will see No Time To Die, whoever makes the trailers for James Bond is a master of giving as little as possible away about the plot. But still getting you absolutely hyped somehow? At the very least we got a historical sneak peek of Lashana Lynch as the new 007. We were meant to have seen No Time To Die back in April, then in November. Now the film is scheduled for April 2021 (for now).

The Woman in the Window

Based on the best-selling psychological thriller novel by  A. J. Finn, The Woman In The Window stars Amy Adams as an agoraphobe who sees something she shouldn’t whilst spying on the apartment across from hers. I know what you’re going to say, that if I wanted to know what happens, I could just read the book. To that I say, is the book directed by Joe Wright? Award-winning director of 2005’s Pride and Prejudice? Does it star perpetually snubbed darling, Amy Adams? Or Academy Award winner, Julianne Moore? I don’t think so.

The trailer is moody, stressful, and borders on the terrifying as Amy Adams cranes her head over her claustrophobic apartment to see the truth of the family across the road. The Woman In The Window was delayed pre-Covid, delayed again because of Covid-19, and has yet to receive a new release date. If anyone else is keen to join my prayer circle for a 2021 release date, don’t hesitate to hit me up on Twitter.

If I am being honest, a small thing that gets me excited when I think about the prospect of a vaccine is enjoying films at the cinema, again. As much as I love the alternative access the entertainment industry has managed throughout 2020, I look forward to that very specific powerful feeling of leaving a cinema after a movie you loved, without having to worry about contracting a virus.

Merryana Salem is a proud Wonnarua and Lebanese–Australian critic, teacher, researcher and podcaster on most social media as @akajustmerry. If you want, check out her podcast, GayV Club where she gushes about LGBT rep in media with her best friend. Either way, she hopes you ate something nice today.